Tennessee Lt. Gov. John S. Wilder was a wealthy landowner and cotton gin owner in 1959. Here are his recollections.

"I was named in the lawsuit against landowners at first, but I was later dropped from it. As a Christian man, I could not condone what the white people were doing. I could see that I was on the wrong side of the fence. They wanted me to call in my crop loans. We had about 300 of those loans. It was not the right thing to do and I would not do it."

At the time, Lt. Gov. Wilder was quoted in other media as follows:

"Thomas Jefferson said, 'These truths are self-evident, all men are created equal' ... to pursue life, liberty and happiness. ... I believe from the depth of my heart all persons under the law are created equally."